SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
OIC Condemns Freedom Flotilla Attacks [May 31]
“The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Monday condemned the violent actions of Israeli soldiers against civilians onboard the Freedom Flotilla heading to Palestine. The OIC said it condemned the uncalled for actions of Israeli troops against Freedom Flotilla civilians delivering humanitarian aid and for their solidarity to the Palestinian people in Gaza. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the OIC, said in a statement that Israel should be held fully responsible for the wellbeing and safety of all people on the ship, adding that such a crime is a deliberate violation of international laws and human values. He also said that Israel must lift the siege it is imposing on Gaza, which debilitated the economy and worsened the living conditions in Gaza..” [Complete Report]
US-Saudi Security Cooperation ‘Very Strong’: Napolitano [May 31]
“US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday the US and Saudi Arabia were cooperating closely on security, and both shared a deep concern about Yemeni militant activities. ‘We all share a concern about terrorist activity emanating from Yemen. Actions of the US in Yemen are with the consent (and) cooperation of the government of Yemen,’ Napolitano said after meetings with King Abdullah and other top Saudi officials. She told journalists Washington was helping Saudi Arabia develop security along the rugged, porous Saudi-Yemen border, across which militants smuggle weapons and operatives into Saudi Arabia. ‘It is a very rough border very difficult to protect from illegal crossings so many of our discussions were about how to protect a very tough, geological, topographical border from illegal crossings,’ she said.. ..’The security coordination is very strong with Saudi Arabia,” Napolitano said, adding the two sides discussed at length programmes to counter the Islamic radicalisation that feeds Al-Qaeda, as well as efforts to prevent militant attacks’..” [Complete Report]
Prince Salman Accorded Warm Welcome in Berlin [May 31]
“Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman arrived in Berlin on an official visit to Germany at the invitation of Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Sunday. Prince Salman was received by the Speaker of the Berlin House of Representatives Walter Momper, Saudi Ambassador to Germany Osama Shobokshi and a number of senior officials at Tegel Airport. Prince Salman is being accompanied by an official delegation including the Chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group Prince Faisal bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported. ‘During the visit, the prince will explore ways for the growth of German investments in the Kingdom apart from discussing ways to achieve closer political relations,’..” [Complete Report]
Bombardier Wins Riyadh Deal [May 31]
“Bombardier Inc. has been awarded a $241-million contract to supply a monorail system for the Saudi capital city’s new financial district. Engineering and design work on the monorail will be done in eastern Ontario, in Kingston, while manufacturing of the 12 cars will be done in Pittsburgh, Pa. Bombardier says the monorail will stretch about 3.6 kilometres through the King Abdullah Financial District being build in Riyadh. The monorail system is scheduled for completion in 2012..” [Complete Report]
Al-Jasser Says European Debt Crisis Will Be Contained [May 31]
“Saudi Arabian central bank Governor Muhammad Al-Jasser said the European sovereign debt crisis is not affecting the economies of the Gulf Arab region and the euro will overcome its difficulties. ‘My guess is that they will maintain the system, they will overcome the problems,’ al-Jasser told reporters today in Seoul, where he is attending a forum hosted by the Bank of Korea. ‘The impact will be more sluggish growth in Europe and maybe some new measures on the resolution of such fiscal problems. This is going to be the challenge for Europe going forward.’ Al-Jasser, who is leading efforts to form a single currency between four Gulf Arab states, said May 24 that the problems facing the euro had not changed his strategy toward forming a regional central bank..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Arabia to Privatise Ports [May 31]
“Saudi Arabia plans to create an independent firm that will manage the kingdom’s eight ports under a gradual privatisation process, the state-run Saudi Ports Authority said on Monday. The authority has completed privatisation studies of the ports, which will lead to the inception of the independent managing entity, its head Khaled Bubshait said in remarks carried by the official SPA news agency. While Bubshait did not say when this entity would be set up, his remarks reactivate a process that has been frozen since late-1997. A royal decree in 1997 allowed private firms to operate and maintain berths and equipment owned by the Ports Authority on a commercial basis, while keeping the ports and their facilities under government ownership. The move was aimed at raising efficiency and creating more jobs for Saudi nationals..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Arabia to Stick to 2010 Budget Spending [May 31]
” Saudi Arabia will not push spending beyond its 2010 plan to keep inflation under control and plans to cut its debt before any new bond issues may be considered, the Kingdom’s finance minister said on Sunday. The world’s top oil exporter ramped up spending to help its crude-reliant economy sail through the global crisis, launching a $400 billion five-year plan in 2008, the largest stimulus relative to gross domestic product among 20 leading nations.. ..Analysts polled by Reuters expected a fiscal surplus of Saudi Arabia, which does not release monthly budget updates, to reach 4.8 percent of GDP this year. Al-Assaf also said that spending within its $400 billion plan, that ends in 2013, was ‘either on time or ahead of time” and that the government would have to review before it is completed whether to keep the stimulus or reduce it’..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Rehab Center Studies Oldest US Addiction Treatment [May 31]
“Mohammed Al-Turaiki left his traditional Saudi headdress behind in favor of a blazer and sweater as he made the rounds at one of the United States’ oldest addiction treatment centers. He had traveled 7,000 miles (11,265 km) to Michigan in hope of finding answers to a problem so taboo in the Kingdom that no official statistics exist: alcohol and drug addiction. Alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia. For those who suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, treatment is scarce and the stigma so great that most never talk about their addiction, even to close family members. Al-Turaiki, the chief executive of the Riyadh-based Saudi Care for Rehabilitation and Health Care, is trying to change the negative image of addiction by creating a network of treatment facilities in the Kingdom. He came to Brighton Hospital earlier this year to check out the facility and its treatment programs that have long have included the Detroit region’s large Arab and Muslim population..” [Complete Report]
